STAT+: Purified T cell transplant lowers risk of immune reaction for blood cancer patients, study shows

An experimental T cell therapy developed by Orca Bio, a private biotech company, significantly reduced the risk of a debilitating immune reaction in patients with several types of blood cancer — a result that met the primary goal of a Phase 3 study and could lead to the new therapy’s approval as a better alternative to matched-donor stem-cell transplants. 

In the study, which enrolled 187 patients with four different types of leukemia, the T cell therapy called Orca-T reduced the risk of chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) by 74% compared to a conventional matched-donor, or allogeneic, stem-cell transplant, Orca announced Monday. 

After one year, 78% of patients offered Orca-T were alive without chronic GVHD compared to 38% of the patients who underwent a standard transplant. 

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